Statin use and endometrial cancer risk: a meta-analysis

// Jing Yang 1, 2 , Qiaoling Zhu 2 , Qiao Liu 2 , Yingxia Wang 2 , Weimin Xie 1 and Lili Hu 3 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Hunan Province, Changsha, China 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jilin Central Hospital, Jilin, China Correspondence to: Weimin Xie, email: xwm315423@163.com Keywords: statin, endometrial cancer, cancer risk, meta-analysis Received: March 17, 2017      Accepted: May 04, 2017      Published: June 27, 2017 ABSTRACT Several studies have evaluated the association between statin use and endometrial cancer risk. We carried out a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies to evaluate the effect of statins on endometrial cancer risk. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, conference abstracts and clinical trial registers was conducted for published and unpublished results. Studies that evaluated exposure to statins and endometrial cancer risk were considered. Pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using either a fixed-effects or a random-effects model. Two RCTs and eleven non-randomized studies (four cohort and seven case-control studies) involving 9,517 cases of endometrial cancer were included in the analysis. There was no evidence of an association between statin use and endometrial cancer risk either among RCTs (RR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.19 to 2.67) or among non-randomized studies (RR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.07). Combined analysis of all included studies also showed that statin use did not significantly affect endometrial cancer risk (RR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.07). The sensitivity analysis confirmed the stability of our results. Our findings do not support a protective effect of statins against endometrial cancer at the population level.